merit chosen to manage many research programs 

 not otherwise related to Treasury responsibilities. 

 In fac*, perhaps the earliest Federal grant to a 

 private body to conduct research was that which 

 Treasury made to the Franklin Institute in 1830 to 

 pay for the materials necessary for experiments to 

 determine the cause of boiler explosions. In 1954 

 and 1955 Treasury reported as much as $1.7 mil- 

 lion and $1.5 million, respectively, for basic re- 

 search in the physical sciences supported by the 

 Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 



In addition to the Treasury Department, numer- 

 ous other agencies have supported basic research. 

 The Office of Science and Technology, for example, 

 abolished June 30, 1973, supported basic research 

 in a variety of scientific fields from 1966 to 1972 

 with annual obligations from $300,000 to $408,000. 

 Similarly, the Office of Telecommunications Policy, 

 eliminated in 1977, supported basic research in 

 several fields during the period from 1975 to 1977 

 with annual obligations of $356,000, $390,000 and 

 $190,(X)0, respectively. The Office of Economic 

 Opportunity also had a substantial program of ba- 

 sic research in the social sciences from 1966 until 

 many of its functions were transferred to other 

 agencies in 1973. This program began with $5.0 

 million in 1966, reached a peak of $8.7 million in 

 1968, and was phased out with $4.2 million in 1972 

 and $865,000 in 1973. None of its successor agen- 

 cies reports obligations which would reflect their 

 having picked up the program. 



Other independent agencies have supported rel- 

 atively small basic research programs. ACTION, 

 responsible for the Peace Corps and Vista among 

 other programs, supported basic research in the 

 social sciences from 1975 to 1977 with reported 

 obligations of $115,000, $32,000, and $92,000, re- 

 spectively. The Federal Trade Commission report- 

 ed $135,000 in basic research obligations for 1962 

 and $300,000 in 1976. with $355,000 estimated for 

 1977; all obligations are for research in the social 

 sciences. The General Services Administration 

 (GSA) reported basic research obligations starting 

 in 1973 with $48,000 for research in engineering. 



This program peaked in 1974 with $510,000; in 

 1975 basic engineering research obligations were 

 $224,000. Basic research classified as "other sci- 

 ences" has been supported with funds amounting 

 to $60-$65,000 a year. The Interstate Commerce 

 Commission reported obligations for basic re- 

 search in the social sciences from 1952 to 1954 at 

 $9,000 per year. The National Foundation on the 

 Arts and the Humanities reports no basic research 

 but, "It makes grants in support of research pro- 

 ductive of humanistic knowledge. . . ." The Nu- 

 clear Regulatory Commission likewise reports no 

 basic research, but some of what was done by its 

 predecessor, the AEC, and which seems to still be 

 going on, might be interpreted by some as mis- 

 sion-oriented basic research, especially in fluid 

 dynamics. 



The Small Business Administration reported obli- 

 gations of $251,000 for basic research in social 

 sciences in 1965. The Tennessee Valley Authority 

 reported $385,000 in obligations for basic research 

 in the life sciences in 1952. The U. S. Arms Con- 

 trol and Disarmament Agency had a 3-year pro- 

 gram of basic research in the mathematical, engi- 

 neering, and social sciences from 1966 to 1968 at 

 an average obligation level of $675,000 per year. 

 The United States Information Agency reported 

 $21,000 for support of basic research in 1957; the 

 research may have been in the physical sciences 

 although the tables do not clearly indicate the 

 field. Since 1955, the United States Civil Service 

 Commission has had a relatively small but consist- 

 ent program of basic research, probably in psy- 

 chology. From 1956 to 1958, the reported obliga- 

 tions were tabulated under social sciences, psy- 

 chology not being recognized in the tables as a 

 separate field until 1959. Annual obligations grew 

 slowly to $46,000 in 1969 and more rapidly after 

 that to a peak of $559,000 in 1975. The estimate 

 for 1977 is $227,000.-^48 



^■"*AII ohlig;itions quoted for "Other Executive Agencies'" are 

 taken from Federal Funds. Vols. II-XXVI. 



366 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND HISTORICAL TRENDS 



